Dionyysus Character Analysis

The City Dionysia Festival was a celebration of the god Dionysus’ arrival in Athens in mythical times and was usually held annually between March and April. The festival and theater performances were ways of honoring the god Dionysus, who is the god of the grape harvest,

In the myth of Dionysus there isn’t exactly a conflict between two sides of people battling for good or evil, its more as a battle between the two sides of Dionysus’ inner self. Unlike most examples of good versus evil, there isn’t a triumphant side. Just the personality switches between Dionysus being the joy-god or the heartless, savage, brutal-god. The reason for this change is due to the fact that he is the vine god; Wine is bad as well as good. He’d bring up peoples hopes and make them believe that they were capable of anything, but once they were sober again

Dionysos is defined as the god of wine, festivity, vegetation, pleasure, and divine intoxication. In the Hope Dionysos, he is depicted as a peaceful and joyful figure that represent happiness in Greek mythology. The statue is sculpted from marble as its medium and is classified as a stone

Dionysus was a wanderer. During these journeys he explored the world. On these journeys he came across many different people and taught them how to keep their vines healthy. On one of his journeys he was captured by pirates. While he was in bondage of these pirates they tried to tie him down. Wherever the rope would touch him it would fall apart. In

“Are you flesh and blood, Odysseus, to endure more than a man can? Do you never tire? God, look at you, iron is what you’re made of” (12.162-164). In the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, the focus is on the journey of Odysseus, the island of Ithaca’s king, after he defeated the Trojans in a war that spanned ten years. He travels far and wide in an attempt to get home to his wife and son, but is repeatedly blocked from doing so by gods, nymphs, and monsters alike. He’s a skilled warrior that fears next to nothing and this poem follows him as he uses these facts to his advantage. Odysseus is persuasive and clever and refuses to shy away from a challenge that requires either one of these characteristics.

This sculpture was given the title, “Dionysus,” and is dated at 50 – 150 A.D. During that period, the Roman Empire went through a civil war, multiple rebellions, a couple disastrous fires, the building of the Colosseum, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the peak of Roman military expansion and thirteen different Emperors. One of which started the Flavian Dynasty, which would bring stability to the empire that was crumbling because of financial strife. With all of these events happening, good and bad, it seems difficult to pin point the inspiration or message behind this sculpture. But if you break that period of time down into parts, it may be easier to get a feel for what the artist was feeling so strongly about, whether it was inspired by

The culture where the sculpture was produced was Roman. During this period of time, Dionysus was a religious cult figure at the temples. As a mythological personification, Dionysus was believed to be a youthful, joyful and effeminate figure. He was the God of wine, celebration and divine intoxication of power. The female figure standing next to him is Spes, the Goddess of hope, who brought harmony to society. Both statues together represented peace, calm and prosperity to the lands.

I chose to compare and contrast two works of art that featured the god Dionysos. Dionysos was a god of celebration and wine, promoting both the intoxicating power of wine and its social benefits for bringing people together. He was an advocate of peace and a promoter of peaceful civilization. Both The Hope Dionysos and the Triumph of Dionysos and the Seasons Sarcophagus represent why Dionysos was such an important and celebrated figure in mythology, which is why I chose to analyze two works of art that centered on him. My first impression of each piece was of Dionysos as a peaceful, benevolent and joyful figure. I was struck by the calm peacefulness he embodied in The Hope Dionysos and the happiness he shared on the Triumph of Dionysos and the Seasons Sarcophagus. Though there are many elements to compare and contrast, my analysis will show that both pieces are tributes and representations of Dionysos meaning and purpose in Roman art.

I find it very useful if I summarize some of the contents of his book, because the position of art is the main theme of this book, he clams that the art gets its growth from both the Apollonian and Dionysian, he also clams that we owe to the Art goddess the Apollo and Dionysus with our knowledge, that there is a dramatic conflict in the Greek world when it comes to the roots and objectives among Apollonian art and the art of Dionysian, Both the Apollonian and the Dionysian are important in the creation of art. Without the Apollonian, the Dionysian lacks the form and structure to make a coherent piece of art, and without the Dionysian, the Apollonian lacks the necessary vitality and passion. Even though they are very opposed, but they are also intimately intertwined, They are taking a complete different directions at the same time they both go hand and hand together, they are somehow Retraction towards rectify more powerful roots which gives to their conflict a nature eternal paradox do not meet only when the term of art is

The essence of this mystery tradition was the embrace of one’s whole self through ecstatic ritual. Sexual longings were summoned and embraced as inherent parts of our inner self. The Cult of Dionysus were worshippers who held rites and initiations to bring them in close contact with this God. These secret rites of initiation were the other essential part of the Dionysian Mysteries. The Cult of Dionysus held the secret rites on Mount Parnassus in the winter, and these rites were exclusively for its cult members. An individual had to make the decision to enter the mystery cult through initiation. These rites celebrated Dionysus’s emergence from the underworld with orgies. They focused on the exhilaration wine produced and used intoxicants and other trance-inducing techniques like music and dance as part of the rituals. It’s believed that at first the songs and dances were designed to stimulate plant growth, and that the orgies were introduced to induce fertility in the vegetation fields. This cult was originally believed to be a wine cult concerned with the cultivation, life-cycle, fermentation, and disinhibiting effects of wine. These rites had a group approach, “which manifests its collective energy through the throbbing patterns of song, dance, and orgiastic sex among its individual participants” (Evans,

Dionysus was the son of the god Zeus and the mortal woman Semele, and because of this he is the only god with a mortal parent. The story tells that Zeus went to Semele in the night, unnoticed by human eyes, but his divine presence could be felt. Feeling this presence herself, Semele was pleased to be the lover of a god. Word soon got around about this ‘Affair’ and Hera (the goddess wife of Zeus) quickly came to a conclusion as to who was responsible. Hera went to Semele in disguise and convinced her she should see her lover as he really was, not knowing of Hera’s intentions, Semele agreed with her. When Zeus visited her again, she made him promise to grant her one wish. She went so far as to make him swear on the River Styx that he would grant her request. Zeus was madly in love and agreed. She then asked him to show her his true form. Zeus was unhappy knowing what was about to happen, but bound by his promise, he had no choice. He appeared in his

Dionysus is the god of wine and fertility, however also became considered a patron of the arts. Along with the variety of things Dionysus was associated with, he is associated with some important concepts. These are, being able to bring a dead person back from the underworld, rebirth after death represented through the symbol of his tending to vines to bear fruit for the making of his wine. There is also the feeling of being possessed by a greater power – which he demonstrated via the influence had from wine. This means that the greater power is the wine – that at these times a man might be greater than himself and do works he otherwise could not.

This work of art is a mix of naturalism and verism. The beautiful perfect skin, the appropriately proportional body and the beauty of young Dionysus are much idealized. The god of wine doesn’t have the body structure of an athlete; however, the body features and muscles are quite in proportion and yet humanized. Dionysus’ face is very humanlike because it displays a certain sense of kindness and relaxedness. There is no sign of stress, discomfort, or detachedness on his face. Dionysus has his left leg crossed over his right leg and he is leaning on Pan on his left. Dionysus’ unique pose is a varied version of contrapposto pose which was so common in the High Classical sculptures. This pose means that the weight of the body is supported by one leg, right leg in this case. This pose illustrates relaxed state of mind and makes the audience feel that Dionysus is at ease. He also has his left hand resting on Pan while holding the wine cup. This shows that Dionysus is trusted by Pan and Pan is also trusted by him because Pan has his right arm around Dionysus’ waist. This close distance mainly

Dionysus is an important figure of Greek mythology. He is the Olympian god of wine, vegetation, festivity and pleasure. He represents humanity’s longing for pleasure and desire to celebrate. Dionysus is also the god of hallucination, theatre, reincarnation and homosexuality. He is called: “the youthful, beautiful, but effeminate god of wine. He is also called both by Greeks and Romans Bacchus (Bakchos), that is, the noisy or riotous god…” (Roman 201).

In Ancient Greece religion and theater went hand in hand. The Greeks developed religion that was based on worship of many Gods. In honor of the Gods there were festivals with dancing, music, and theatrical performances. During the festivals the whole city would come to a complete stand still. All businesses were closed, politics were put on the back burner, and wars were halted. All social classes were welcome to come to the festival, and they all did. One of the most famous religious festivals is the City Dionysia, a festival in honor of the god Dionysus, god of wine, revelry, and fertility. The festival was held in ancient Athens, in March for five days, featuring dramatic competitions. These dramatic competitions consisted of dithyrambs, tragedies, comedies, and satyr plays. The tragedy competition was four plays per playwright, three tragedies and one satyr play. There were two processions; the first was carrying the statue of Dionysus from the temple to the theater of Dionysus at the foot of the Acropolis. The second were the patrons parading through the